Gauteng Shutdown protests starting today over ‘institutional racism’

The Ennerdale community is protesting "in solidarity with Westbury". Photo: @LiberalsAreNaiv

The coordinating committee says the Blood Friday project is not only about coloureds, but they’ve had enough of economic exclusions.

The Gauteng Shutdown Coordinating Committee (GSCC) is kicking off its Blood Friday project today with two protests in Gauteng.

The first is a march today in central Johannesburg, with another against Ennerdale South African Police Service tomorrow.

However, Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) spokesperson Wayne Minnaar said they had not been notified, while GSCC’s Dean Rosenburg claimed the opposite. So it’s not certain if either march will happen.

The committee said in a statement yesterday that they have held meetings with coloured communities about the “logistics of the Blood Friday project” and delivered an “Official Notice Letter for Economic Inclusion” to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

It read: “The Blood Friday project is not only about coloureds. However, we are absolutely clear our people have had enough of the obvious and unashamed exclusions from the economy of Gauteng and the country.

“For example, the Gauteng government introduced seven economic hubs and not one was in a coloured community. Our youth are not benefiting from the provincial Tshepo 1 000 000 project offering skills and employment. Why are we not included!”

The statement said Blood Friday “will officially register the existence of institutional racism”.

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